NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee State men’s basketball team will conclude its three-game road trip on Thursday when the squad travels to Jacksonville, Ala. for a re-match with the Gamecocks.

In the Tigers’ last contest at UT Martin, Miller, the reigning OVC player of the week finished with 29 points on 8-of-14 shooting and went 13-for-14 from the line. The Chicago native also dished out three assists and pulled down four rebounds.

Three other players joined Miller in the double-digit scoring club: Harris (15), Rhett (11), and Kennedy Eubanks (11). Rhett nearly finished with a double-double, totaling eight boards on the night.

The Tigers are averaging 87.5 points over their past two contests which is a marked improvement for a club that was scoring at a 65.9 rate in the 17 games prior.

The familiarity of OVC opponents has helped TSU’s offense pour in seven more points in league games than those played outside of the conference.

A major reason for the surge has been the play of Harris and Jacquan Nobles who have combined to average 8.7 more points against OVC foes. For Nobles, the senior is recording 10.4 points per league game, up 6.1 since Dec. 28.

TSU beat Jacksonville State in the teams’ earlier meeting 70-65 for the Tigers’ only win over a Division I team.

The Gamecocks are 1-1 since their defeat in Nashville, but just fell to Eastern Illinois, 56-48, on Saturday. The loss to EIU was only their second at home this year, dropping them to 6-2.

Darion Rackley still leads the team, averaging 12.5 points per game, but Brain Williams is another competent scorer (10.9).

JSU is one of the better defensive teams in the league and is third in scoring defense, only surrendering an average of 69.8 points per contest.

The Tigers are 14-9 against the Gamecocks all-time and will go for win number 15 on Thursday night when the teams tipoff at 7 p.m.